The Volkswagen Group is intensifying its cooperation with young start-ups ups from the technology sector. At the international “CUBE Tech Fair “ start-up and technology conference held in Berlin from May 10 to 12, Volkswagen is presenting the Volkswagen Mobility Award to a top start-up. Volkswagen has been cooperating with start-ups intensively for several years, which is one of the reasons why it remains an innovative trendsetter with respect to future-oriented digital topics.
Dr. Martin Hofmann, CIO of the Volkswagen Group, says: “We have top know-how within the Volkswagen Group and are expanding it. For this purpose, we are cooperating with first-class technology companies throughout the world as well as with small, highly innovative start-ups. We appreciate start-ups as key providers of impetus and partners give them the boost they need to pursue their ideas successfully. This is a win-win situation.”
At the end of 2015, Volkswagen Group IT established the Ideation Hub, a department whose main task is to bring Volkswagen and young start-ups together. The Ideation Hub identifies ideas in the international start-up scene, approaches the young entrepreneurs and supports them through to the implementation of a pilot project within the Group. The portfolio of pilot projects already completed ranges from 3-D printing applications to mobility services such as the intelligent use of geographic data.
At the CUBE Tech Fair, the Ideation Hub is presenting the Volkswagen Mobility Award to a top start-up. The winner of the Mobility Award will have an opportunity to launch an industrial project within the Group with additional start-up financing of €15,000. This may involve the development of a project to market maturity in Dresden or technology-driven cooperation in one of the Volkswagen IT labs.
